In our recent CALIBRE interview with Sabrina Ghayour, the Iranian chef described Tepsi kebap as one of the dishes that best reflects how she cooks at home: simple, generous and full of flavour. This Turkish tray-baked kebab recipe, taken from her book Simply
, is easy to put together, deeply satisfying, and a good example of her fuss-free approach to cooking.
Tepsi is the Turkish word for tray, and this simple baked kebab takes its name from the dish it is cooked in. Sabrina Ghayour first encountered it in Antakya, where the ingredients were hand-minced, pressed into a tray and baked in a wood-fired oven. Her home version keeps the spirit of that dish intact.
“What the Turks don’t know about making kebabs just isn’t worth knowing,” says Ghayour. “I visited a butcher’s shop attached to a restaurant in Antakya in Turkey and was roped into hand mincing the ingredients for this particular recipe using a giant machete-like knife. The mixture was then pressed into a baking tray and baked in a wood-fired oven. The results were spectacular, and the flavour was so memorable that I came back home and created a version in a shallow casserole.
“If any one recipe changes the way you cook, this may just be it – the meat is juicy, tender and charred on top, and the ease of pressing the meat into the dish makes this a super-simple way to make a kebab.”
Tepsi kebap recipe
500g minced lamb (20% fat)
1 onion, minced in a food processor and drained of any liquid, or very finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
½ red pepper, cored, deseeded and very finely chopped
50g flat leaf parsley, leaves and stalks finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1 tablespoon pul biber chilli flakes
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Generous amount of Maldon sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Tortilla wraps or bread
Sliced red onion
Greek yoghurt, optional
Preheat your oven to its highest setting. Select an ovenproof dish or baking tray – I use a shallow cast-iron casserole dish about 22cm in diameter.
Put all the main ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, using your hands, work them together well, pummelling the meat mixture for several minutes into a smooth, even paste.
Press the meat mixture into the ovenproof dish or baking tray to cover the base and bake for 18 minutes, or until golden on top. Serve immediately with tortilla wraps or bread, some sliced red onion, parsley leaves and Greek yoghurt, if liked.
